


Hollow

by Liyah_Ayerst



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Big Bang Challenge, Gen, Minor Character Death, Slight addition/detox mentions, mentions of torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-20
Updated: 2014-06-20
Packaged: 2018-02-05 11:22:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1816774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liyah_Ayerst/pseuds/Liyah_Ayerst
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean Winchester's family falls apart the night that his mother is murdered and his brother Sam is kidnapped. Suddenly caught up in the world of the supernatural, Dean is raised with one purpose, given to him by his father: save Sam. But as he learns more about his missing brother he discovers Sam has a purpose too. Will Dean be able to save him in time or will Sam fulfill his purpose and bring Hell to Earth?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the art link for the lovely work done for my story :) Please go tell her how awesome it is!  
> http://m14mouse.livejournal.com/87755.html

It was the only nightmare Dean ever had. He wakes from it in a cold sweat, a scream frozen between his lips. _Fire. Heat pressing in from all sides._ He glances over at where his father lies in the other bed to make sure that he hadn't made too much noise. _His father's anguished face as-_ Dean balls his hands into fists and presses his knuckles against his eyes. It's no use, but he can't help but try and force the images away. He never could get back to sleep on these nights so he would just roll over, curl up tight as he could, and try to think about anything else. Inevitably, though, the movie in his head would start over and he would wait it out; the fire that had stolen his family had seared the memories permanently into his brain.

_"Come on, let's say goodnight to your brother," Mary said with a smile as she carried Dean into the nursery. Setting him on his feet, he walked over to lean into his brother’s crib._

_"Night Sam," he said quietly after kissing his forehead. Mary leaned over with a kiss and whispered "Goodnight love."_

_"Hey Dean."_

_"Daddy!" Dean runs over to be picked up by his father. "Hey Buddy, what do you think? Sammy ready to toss around a football yet?" John asks, laughing._

_''No Daddy," Dean says, smiling._

_Mary walks past them, brushing her hand across Dean's back down to her husband's arm. "You got him?"_

_"I got him..." John replies, rubbing Dean's back as the boy rests his head on his shoulder. "Sweet dreams, Sam," he says, turning off the light and leaving to put Dean to bed._

_Dean fell asleep almost immediately, curling up with his teddy bear in the center of his bed. He didn't really know what it was that woke him up and he lay in bed rubbing his eyes as his father walked down the hallway. Yawning he wiggled deeper into the sheets and was drifting back off to sleep when he hears his father yell. The sound made him bolt upright in fear. Dads weren't supposed to be afraid. Dads were too tough. Stumbling out of bed and down the hall, Dean watched his father reach desperately for the ceiling._

_"Dad?" Dean's voice trembled as his eyes drifted up. John scooped Dean up into his arms covering his eyes, desperate to keep him from seeing more than he already had. The cool night air was a shock to their heated skin as they came out onto the front lawn. Dean pulled his head back and looked around trying to find the rest of his family._

_“What happened to Mom? Dad, where’s Sam? We have to get Sammy!” Dean twisted trying to get free, but John only held him tighter. John wanted to cry, but didn’t. Something or someone had taken Sam, and turning back to the house he watched as his life went up in flames. His wife was gone, his son taken, but he still had Dean, and Dean needed him to be strong._

_Twenty minutes gone and Dean was sitting on the hood of the Impala pressed against his father's side, like he was trying to crawl inside him and hide. Firemen were shouting to each other as they struggled to contain the blaze as the paramedics came. They offered their sympathies as they turned back toward the ambulance but none of it made him feel any better. "We'll get him back Dean...we'll get him back. I promise." Finally, Dean cried, tears wetting the front of John's shirt. He didn't understand what happened and hated that things were so confusing. He just wanted to wake up and have it be a nightmare, but no matter how many times he closed and reopened his eyes he was still right there._

They had spent the night at a neighbor's house and Dean remembered how panicked he felt when he woke up and his father wasn't there. He didn't stop screaming for him until John had come back, dropping their bags on the floor and wrapping him up in a hug. He held him close and promised him that they would find Sam and that they would figure it all out. Nodding over towards the bags he told Dean to get changed and the next thing he knew they were off to god knows where, speeding down the highway in the Impala. He held a page from a phone book tight in his hand as he drove, stopping occasionally only to make a phone call or let Dean go to the bathroom.

Eventually, John found what he was looking for at a tiny house just outside of Lawrence. He pulled in, took a deep breath and turned off the engine. Dean in front, they picked their way up the front steps. Once inside, John was hit with an uncharacteristic sense of calm. Through the kitchen arch he could see a heavy-set woman, dark skinned and dimpled pouring tea for two. He cleared his throat. “Are you…?”

“Missouri Moseley?” She raised an eyebrow, “Lawd, child. I’d assume if I weren’t, I’d have asked why you didn't knock. Now, I know why you’re here and I’ll tell you what you need to know but the boy-” She gestured to Dean, “He don’t need no more bad news in his life, so you park him right there on my couch and you follow me John Winchester.” John nodded to Dean who reluctantly moved over to the couch even though he wanted to go back with his father and hear what Missouri had to say.

“It was a demon, what took your boy.” Missouri said, as John sat down. “First thing you gotta know is that there are things in this world that ain’t what they seem, second is that you’ve got a choice. We all got a plan, son, an’ they didn’t take that boy on a whim. Ain’t nothing wrong with walking away.”

He had known that he would most likely get an answer he didn't expect but still, being told that a demon took his son? Not something he was prepared for. His mind flashed to images of when he was young, back when he attended church and Sunday school. Back then demons were twisted creatures with red skin, horns and claws. Missouri waved a hand at him. "None of that nonsense now. It's not like they'd walk the streets like that, don't be foolish. Be glad you haven't seen the true face of a demon." She shook her head and sipped at her tea, eying him over the rim of her cup. "This won't be an easy thing to fight," she cautioned, waiting as John worked through this new knowledge. He looked through the beaded curtain that sectioned off the front room to see Dean sitting on the couch kicking his feet.

"I can't just abandon him like that. It took my son and I'm going to get him back." John was a soldier and what he needed was an enemy, but what he wanted was his son.

"Well...it seems we got a lot of work then."

Hours later, John and Dean were sitting in the corner booth at a diner down the street. John shuffled through some papers that he had taken from Missouri. He had barely spoken two words and after the placing his order, he still didn't say anything. There was a list of people who Missouri said were in the business of hunting- god, part of him still didn’t believe it- the supernatural, and he stared down at the phone numbers.

Beside him Dean squirmed, picking little pieces off his paper napkin as he sat in the uncomfortable silence. "Stop it," John snapped before folding the papers up and placing them back in his jacket pocket. "Dean..." He sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose before continuing. "Things are different now and you're just going to have to accept that for a little bit, okay? I know you're not going to like all the moving around we're going to be doing but you need to bear with me because we need to do it to find Sam."

"Did that lady tell you who took him?" Dean asked quietly, afraid that the answer would be 'no' but the question had been buzzing around his head since he was left sitting on the couch at Missouri's. "Did she tell you how to find him?"

John looked at his son. The food arrived before he answered, but instead of eating he pushed the food around his plate. "She gave us someplace to start," he said finally. "We need to talk to these people," he patted his jacket where the papers were tucked away. "And they're going to help us get what we need."

Looking at his father, Dean nodded. He didn’t understand then; maybe twelve years later he still didn’t. Like many sleepless nights before, Dean woke up covered in sweat in a bed that wasn’t his own, wondering if it would ever stop. Shifting onto his back he breathed in and out until he forced every muscle in his body to relax. It would be easier if he didn’t know tomorrow would be the same.


	2. Part I

Sam didn't realize that Meg wasn't his mother until he was much older. He didn't make much of a distinction anyway even after learning this his real mother was murdered by his father because Meg was the one who had always been there. It was true that they looked nothing alike, she was a short blonde whereas Sam grew to her height just before his 13th birthday and still didn't fill a room like she did. There were also the obvious differences like how her eyes bled black when she was angry or could disappear whenever she pleased. Sam tried to get both to happen once, much to her amusement.

When Sam was six he asked Meg why she could do those things and he couldn't so she taught him what he needed to know about people and demons. She showed him that demons weren't monsters, they were just doing what they were made to do. He also learned about rugarus, shtrigas, poltergeists, water spirits and all other manner of creatures. Then he found out about the people that hunted them down. The more he learned about what they were and what he was, the more terrifying the hunters became. That was when he was told what happened to his birth mother. Meg told him that somehow her husband had found out that she was a demon so he murdered her and set their house on fire to try and kill Sam too as he fled with Sam's brother. Soon he was having nightmares, terrified that they would come after him and cut him down just like he heard in the stories.

Meg put a stop to that quickly. She and Azazel, the yellow-eyed demon who pulled him from the fire that was meant to kill him, explained why his family did that to him. Told him about the power that existed inside him and how he would be able to protect demons and creatures from the hunters once he grew into his strength. "Little Boy King" Meg called him, grinning whenever he protested being called little even if the word King was in there too. "Don't want to be little anymore, huh?" She teased one day, offering a flask from her hip. "Drink up." And Sam did, coughing once he swallowed the first mouthful. He grimaced and asked what she was giving him. "It's demon blood." At his horrified look she rolled her eyes. "You want to do the eye trick and everything else that comes along with all this strength you want?" Sam nodded, hesitating only a moment. She motioned to the flask with her eyes and pushed back from the table. "Then, like I said, drink up."

"But doesn't it hurt the demons?"

"Just think of them as blood donors and you'll be fine." Sam nodded and forced another couple mouthfuls down. It took a couple weeks for him to fully adjust to the taste and feel of the liquid in his stomach but when mornings passed and he didn't get any blood he found himself craving it. That was when Ruby first showed up. Sam hadn't liked her at first. She came in all wicked smiles and arrogance, ruffling his hair as she walked past with a container of fries in her other hand.

"So Azazel tells me that you're all juiced up now and ready to start your training."

Sam's eyes darted over to Meg before returning to Ruby. He knew that he needed to train to start to use his powers but he had always assumed it would be Meg teaching him. But it was Ruby that showed up every morning and pushed him until he was able to control his telekinesis with ease. Soon he came to enjoy his training. Liked the strain and the power he got from it. Liked that with every passing day he was more able to help those who may need him. He wasn't able to go out and actually use his powers yet, but for now he was satisfied with knowing that he had them and that when the time came he would be ready. 

////////////

Hunt down the Yellow-eyed Demon and find Sam. It was the creed that Dean had grown up on. Barely a day would pass before John was bringing up another lead, dropping another book in front of Dean, or disappearing to follow some trail he picked up. Dean had learned to revel in the freedom of days that didn't include John breathing down his neck. He still kept an eye out for ordinary hunts but took a break from trying to figure out the great mystery that was his missing brother. Things were always hardest after visiting Missouri though. They were never sure what they would find out from her so Dean's nerves would always be strung out, waiting for good news or bad, waiting to hear that he missed something that he should have caught. But more often than not they left her home in exactly the same place they were before they got there, only worn down a bit more by all the time wasted. 

The Impala rumbled up behind Singer Salvage and Bobby glanced at his watch with a frown. The Winchesters weren't due back for another few hours and since he hadn't gotten a call ahead of time, he could only assume the worst. The kitchen door opened but wandering into the room, Bobby found only Dean sitting at the table, bottle of beer open in front of him. Peeking out the window he could see John pulling the car into the open garage so he turned back to Dean and sat down across from him.

Neither one of them spoke. Bobby learned the hard way that trying to get Dean to speak before he was ready was not a good idea, so he settled in and sipped his whiskey until the boy was ready. Several long minutes later Dean finally took a drink and said, "Demon didn't know shit, just another low level trying to cause trouble topside, and Missouri?" Dean snorted and shook his head. "She hasn't been able to get a read on anything in months." He ran a calloused hand down his face. "I don't even remember the last time we had a lead. What the fuck else can we do?"

Bobby listened quietly; knocking back the rest of his drink with a grimace before pushing the empty glass away. "Nothing we can do but keep lookin'."

"Fuck, Bobby, that's not good enough! I mean who knows what they're doing to him? I don't want to think about it, but the longer this is taking the more impossible it is to ignore." Truth be told, Dean didn't want to know what they might be doing. His Dad would never speculate and that probably made it worse, growing up imagining. All he knew was that he had a job and that was to find Sam, but sometimes he didn't know how much of Sam there would be, or if he'd know the difference. They were blood, sure, but brothers? He supposed that depended. Both of Dean's legs were bouncing in agitation and his fingers drummed against the bottle. He looked anywhere but at Bobby and was currently in the process of chewing his bottom lip bloody.

"Then don't ignore it, boy. Let that be what keeps you going. The sooner we can get him away from those demons the better."

Dean slammed a fist down on the table. "That's not good enough!" He yelled again, nostrils flaring as he tried to restrain himself. "That's nowhere near good enough. What would a bunch of demons want with a baby, hmm? I mean he’s just a kid. What's a kid gonna do? How do we even know they still have him?"

Bobby interrupted, holding a hand. "We know he's alive, they were practically throwing that in our faces when your dad and I caught up with them."

"Yeah but maybe something went wrong. Maybe their little experiment fucked up and now he's gone and we're just chasing our damn tails?" Dean was up and pacing, the fingers running through his hair making it a spiky mess as he moved. "I mean after Missouri told us about the other fires she saw, Ash looked them up and all those other kids that were involved weren't taken. Why is Sam so different? What's going on with the other kids? I mean we're flying blind, we don't know anything." It was an old argument. Bobby had lost count of how many times they had gone over theory after theory. He knew they were missing something big, but no one could figure out what. But, that wasn’t what was bothering him.

"Son, why don't you tell me what's really wrong?"

Dean stopped dead and glared at him. "What, all this bullshit isn't enough?"

"Clearly not since you and I have been here before and I've never seen you this upset. Angry, furious, snot-nosed and crying yes, but somethin' else is eating at you and I want to know what."

Dean sighed, shoulders deflating as he stared out the window. He didn't want to answer, didn't want to voice the fears that have been eating at him. He opened and closed his mouth a few times trying to get himself to speak. If he didn't tell him now he knew that Bobby would just find another time to ask and he would break down. Better to just tell him and get it over with.

"I'm...shit, Bobby." Dean ran both hands through his hair. "I don't even know what he looks like. I'm supposed to spend all my time spent hunting monsters and searching for someone who I literally know nothing about. I've tried to imagine him but it's just a blurry face and there's no way around that. I can fucking list off the way to kill every monster known in North America," he said with an angry jab back toward the library Bobby kept. "But I can't even tell you a single thing about my little brother. I want to save him more than anything but he could walk right past me and I wouldn't even know it!" He dropped back down to his chair. How can I save him if I don't even know him?"

"You'll know him." Bobby rested a hand on his shoulder. "If not by face than by how hard those demons fight to keep you away from him." Grabbing his cane, he walked out toward the garage to give Dean some time to himself. John was elbow deep in the Impala's engine and he spoke up when Bobby approached.

"She needs a new alternator belt. The breaks are probably due for a change too." Bobby nodded and leaned back against the work table.

"And you? What do you need?"

John huffed out a laugh and wiped his hands on a rag. "I can assume that Dean told you we're at another dead end?"

"Yeah, summed it all up pretty good."

John slumped back against the car with a defeated sigh. "We're no closer than we were years ago when those demons blasted your knee up."

Twinging at the mention, Bobby reached down and rubbed his bad knee with a frown. He and John had gotten a lead about eight years back, tracked Sam down to a house just outside of Lawrence. They had wanted to see only how easy it was to get inside and not consider anything else, so walking into the trap nearly got them killed. Bobby had been flung down the stairs and John lost a kidney when a demon stabbed him in the back. Bruised and broken, the demons had gotten cocky and left the pair for dead and if it wasn't for a neighbor, they likely would have been.

"Well close up the car and grab one of the six packs from the back fridge because I've got something that might help anyway. It's no lead on the demons," Bobby said quickly, before John could get his hopes up. "But it'll come in handy anyhow."

Once the three of them were gathered in the library, Bobby turned his computer to show the correspondence. "I think I've managed to track down the location of the Colt."

"The Colt? The gun that can supposedly kill anything?" Dean asked, sitting forward and looking closer at the emails, and Bobby nodded.

"You get that in your hands and I'm sure it'll get the attention of Azazel, if nothing else." John's eyes were dark and it was quiet for several minutes as the three of them thought it over. Dean looked ready to bolt out the door and get it himself.

"How do we know that the hunter will give it up?" John asked. "If I had it I know I sure as hell wouldn't." Bobby shrugged and leaned back, the old chair creaking as he shifted.

"Well you are one persuasive son of a bitch. Either way, this gun may be exactly what we need since who knows what it will take to kill this Azazel. Old and powerful does not bode well in my book." 

John had planned on leaving Dean for a while and going off on his own but now, he would need Dean with him. The next morning they were on the road and just as John had assumed, Daniel Elkins wasn't in the mood to give up his gun. In fact he refused to admit he had it, but John and Dean knew better. They tore the place apart and when they found it, Dean knew everything was going to change.

////////////

Sam hated visions. He knew it was part of his powers and that they would be a help in releasing Lucifer, but that didn't make waking up feeling like his head was split open any easier. Waking up with a migraine always clued him in to the fact that what he just saw was a vision, but they didn't always make sense. The ones filled with creatures and death were easy and he would always tell Meg what he saw when he finally managed to drag himself out of bed, but there were others just left him feeling confused. Like the first time he saw the green-eyed boy; Sam assumed it was just a dream and forgot about it. Then by the third time he realized it was something else. He hadn't mentioned anything about the boy to Meg or the others; he couldn't be that harmful when most of the time Sam saw him laying out in his car or listening to music or drinking a beer. But Sam still felt like there was something off about these visions. 

He couldn't figure out why he was having them when they seemed to have no connection to hunters or his own life as the Boy King until the vision he had had three weeks ago. In the vision, he was kneeling on the ground with a kid who was probably 13 or 14 (around the same age that Sam was himself) crying and clinging to him. There was a gun in the man's hand and while Sam couldn't see much else around him to get any more answers he had seen the look in the man's eyes enough to know that he had just fought with and killed a creature. Sam tried his best to ignore that one. Part of him was repulsed at the idea of letting this creature be killed but for some reason Sam didn't want the others to know about him. Had he told the others about these visions he might have gotten the answers he was looking for, but Sam liked keeping those to himself, like they were just for him. Sam hadn't dreamed about the green-eyed boy last night, it had just been another repeat vision from the night before so when we went downstairs he grunted out a greeting to Meg, not needing to tell her the vision again.

"Better cheer up before Ruby gets here. You know she just makes it harder for you when you're feeling like shit." She said with a smirk, kicking her chair back to rest on two legs. Sam nodded, using the knowledge that Ruby would be there soon to force his body to wake up more. She may not have seemed like much at first glance, but he learned quickly that she wasn't one to cross since she had no issue with turning her powers on Sam to push him around a little. She told him once that she was a witch back when she was human and every once in a while Sam would manage to cajole her into telling more stories about her time as a human. He was fascinated with the transformation that demons underwent and always had more questions to ask. Ruby wouldn't let him distract her for long though. She would offer him the flask and explain that the demon blood would help him boost his powers where it had taken her years to really learn her craft.

Though it was a struggle, Sam had come to enjoy his training. He could feel himself getting stronger but he wanted more. As he continued to have his visions he saw more and more hunters going after his kin and killing creatures mercilessly. He hated being home when instead he could be out protecting others. Ruby could see his frustration so when she came in a few days later with a smirk curling up the corner of her mouth he should have known something would be different. She beckoned him into the next room where he saw a man kneeling, hands bound in front of him. There was a devil's trap carved into the metal of his restraints so knew he was a demon, but he had never come across one that needed to be restrained like this. Before he could even ask Ruby spoke. "This demon doesn't think that you can cut it, Sam. He thinks that Azazel's plan is going to fail and he's been trying to pull demons away from your side." At Sam's frown she continued. "So, it's time to teach him and the others what we think of that. Don't you agree?"

Sam nodded and took a few steps closer to him. "What do you need me to do?"

"Pull him out of his meatsuit. Force him back into Hell as a disgrace."

Sam held out his right hand, exhaling slowly as he tried to concentrate on the task. Tried to grab on and pull the demon away but nothing happened. The set of the man's shoulders relaxed a bit at this, deciding too quickly that he was right to think that Sam wasn't as strong as he thought. “C’mon, Sammy. You want to run the show? Show me you can handle the riffraff. You know how to do it so pull him out and send him back to Hell.”

Sam closed his eyes, trying to visualize wrapping the smoke of this demon around his fist and pulled. The demon grunted and when Sam opened his eyes to smile and pull harder the demon began to convulse. Slowly the smoke filtered out of his mouth, hovering around him uncertainly as it was held in place by Sam's power. When Sam couldn't quite detach him from the vessel the smoke began to sink back into the body. Panicking and not wanting to lose any more ground he yanked hard, stepping backward as his body followed the momentum and that final pull forced the rest of the smoke to fall from the man's mouth and burn through the floor. His elation at having successfully exorcised him abated when he stumbled back, lightheaded for a moment as his nose started to bleed. But Ruby grinned wide and nudged the dead body with a foot.

"There's a war coming. And there are some demons who are on the right side and some who are on the wrong side. They don't want you here, Sam. They want you gone because they know what you're going to accomplish and they're afraid." Sam dabbed at his nose with his sleeve and looked down at the blood doubtfully. "You know what you have to do so the sooner you can start making a name for yourself the sooner we can get rid of scum like this. You'll be strong soon enough to be able to take out a room full of demons without batting an eye."

He looked skeptical at that but Ruby sat him back on the couch and twisted up a tissue to stop the blood from dripping out his nose. "Your body needs to adjust. You haven't used this much of your power before so it's not going to be pleasant." She said in an oddly comforting tone. "In a couple more days we'll bring another one in and see how you handle that. Time to start living up to your name, Boy King."

////////////

Dean had been with the demon for hours. He was good at this, now, ever since his father had trusted him enough to let him take over the interrogations. And once Dean proved how adept he was at getting information, John left it all to him. Every few minutes screams and muffled voices could be heard and ten minutes later Dean finally emerged wiping a knife clean on a rag and sat down beside his father. The line of his shoulders was tight and he needed some time to compose himself before he spoke. When he did his voice was barely above a whisper. "He told me where Sam was. They're in a house in some fucking development a few states over." He shook his head in disbelief and ran a hand through his hair, not caring that there was still blood on his fingers. "Just a regular fucking house."

Bobby clapped Dean on the back and used him to help stand. "Go inside and get cleaned up. Then the three of us can sit down and come up with a plan." Dean was ready to argue but one look from Bobby was enough to keep him quiet.

John was pacing along the length of the porch, hand scratching over his scruff as he muttered to himself. Bobby knocked Dean's leg with his cane to get him moving; the sight of him after a torture sessions always unnerved him. Dean grumbled but stood and headed inside, pulling off his shirt as he went.

Bobby sighed. "I don't want this time around to end up like it did last time. You two have got to make a plan and work with it because neither one of you can afford an injury like this." John nodded tersely and picked at some loose wood on the railing.

"When Dean comes out we'll get the rest of the information and start there. Until then, I'm going to clean up." John trudged out to the shed and pulled the demon's body out to the pit they had already dug. By the time John burned the bones and the ashes, Dean had come back out and joined the others at the table. It would be hours before they moved again.

John made them go over the plan three times. Bobby and Dean both recounted every detail carefully and since they didn't know what state Sam would be in when they found him, they needed the house to be ready. Dean wanted to leave right away, but Bobby insisted they go to bed . It would be a couple hours drive and they couldn't afford to let something so simple trip them up.

They packed light, bringing only what they would need. John slipped a sedative into his jacket pocket and offered one to Dean in case they were unable to get Sam out without a struggle. Dean took it reluctantly but admitted having it as backup wouldn't hurt. After loading the car they took off early in the morning, John driving.

Dean didn't think that he would be able to sleep, but his body had been well trained to rest whenever it could so it was easy enough for him to get some rest for a while then switch over to the driver's seat when John got too tired. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. All he could think about was that conversation he’d had with Bobby over his doubts about his ability to save Sam. It all crashed into him now that it was coming to a head and he wanted a drink to wash it all away.

John parked the car a few blocks down from the address they were given and walked to the house. Dean snorted as he saw they pale yellow house just beyond the curve in the road. The damn thing had shutters and everything. Dean hated that they hid Sam in plain sight when he had spent nights imaging all the dark and horrible places that Sam could be instead.

Shaking off his melancholy when John signaled to him, Dean moved up to the front of the house and peered into the window. There were no obvious defense and it was quiet except for a TV that he could hear if he strained. He nodded to John and looked back to the window to keep watch while he picked the look on the door. Not that it mattered because before the pair had even made it through the door three demons appeared in a cloud of smoke and the stench of sulfur burned their noses. They were clearly first line, sent in to delay the intruders while stronger backup had time to arrive. But it seemed that the message went out loud and clear because more demons appeared quickly, Azazel coming in behind them. He laughed at the sight of the Winchesters. "Finally found us, huh? Looking for a repeat performance there Johnny boy?" His eyes flickered to Dean and glowed yellow. "Little Dean, all grown up now. Mary would be so proud." John snarled at the mention of his wife and hurled a holy water bomb.

They had assumed that yellow-eyes would show up but they hadn't expected it to be so early. Knowing they had little time if they were going to succeed at all, Dean broke off to try and find Sam while his father kept the demons busy. He turned down another hallway and quickly drew a crude but effective Devil's Trap to cover his back. Flying up the stairs at the end of the hallway he kicked open every door calling out Sam's name.

But the last door on the right was locked and one hit wasn't enough to break the frame. "Sam?" He called out, trying the handle before stepping back. He didn't wait for a response he just kicked the door again. The bang was loud in the small room even as the sound of his own rushing blood filled his ears. A boy was standing back by the desk, eyes wide as he stared. Dean took in his features: the brown hair, the hazel eyes. Who else would they keep locked up here, but he had to be sure. "Sam?"

Sam gripped the edge of the desk, frozen. He could easily disarm him, kill him or simply contain him but he didn't. Instead, he stared. Ruby had trained him for this, he knew what to do, but that face...god, that face was so familiar. Sam worried his lower lip between his teeth as he struggled to speak. "You're the hunter. The one that I keep having visions about. Who are you?" He asked, as he took a hesitant step forward. "Why do I keep seeing you?" His instincts were screaming at him to fight. He was obviously dangerous; Sam had seen him hunt down countless creatures with cold efficiency but he needed to know who he really was before making a move. 

"Sammy...it's me, Dean. I'm your brother. God I've been looking for you for as long as I can remember." He looked exactly as he imagined yet at the same time completely different. But it didn't matter. Because he finally had Sam and he was going to bring him home. "It's going to be okay, I promise Sammy, I promise. But you have to come with me now."

Sam's eyes had narrowed at the mention of being his brother and when Dean rushed forward to grab Sam's wrist, Sam pulled back. As Dean opened his mouth to reassure him, Sam took a couple steps back to put more space between the two of them. "Been looking for me so you can kill me just like you did, Mom?" The words stunned Dean into silence so Sam continued. "I know it was you and your father who tried to burn my cradle down."

"Sam what are you talking about? Those demons killed Mom, not us. They kidnapped you for some fucked reason and now..." Dean gestured at him, hoping that it would convey his meaning as he tried to find the right words. "Now you're all messed up thinking like that."

"I could say the same for you." Sam retaliated, stepping forward and jabbing a finger at his chest. "I've seen you kill dozens of creatures. Ones just trying to protect themselves, do nothing but survive same as you."

"Sam those monsters kill people. How am I supposed to just do nothing while that's going on?"

"They're not monsters!" Sam shouts. Stepping back as the desk and bed slid along the floor toward Dean as if creating a barrier between the two boys. 

Dean was shocked by the display of power, not at all expecting to encounter anything like this. But it made his heart sink because he knew that Sam would never come willingly. Gritting his teeth against what he was about to do, Dean shoved the desk aside while yanking the needle out of his jacket pocket. "I'm sorry, Sam." He jabbed the needle into Sam's arm and managed to depress the plunger before Sam extended his arm and flung Dean back, shoving him back into the desk as Sam stumbled. 

Sam's head swam and he pressed a hand to his forehead as if that would help make it go away. He blinked at the needle that had fallen to the floor and had to lean his hand against the wall or else he would be joining it. He blinked hard, opening his eyes wide as if that would help clear his vision. He watched the blurred outline of Dean as he pulled himself to his feet before finally losing balance himself and sliding down until he hit the floor. The heavy thud of Dean's boots as he stepped closer seemed to echo in Sam's head as he called out for help. He glared at Dean and scoffed at the second apology that he tried to offer. His tongue was heavy in his mouth and he was quickly falling under the effect of whatever it was Dean injected him with. 

Dean stopped short though when the door slammed against the wall again and Meg stormed in. Dean turned so Sam was behind him and raised his gun. He fired off three quick shots to push her back but it didn't keep her from attacking long. "Sorry but we can't have you coming in here and ruining our plans. We've put too much into this to lose it now." Dean grunted while trying to force her back out into the hallway. It was a struggle for him to keep his eye on her but he couldn't afford to let himself be distracted by Sam who was trying to get back to his feet. They grappled for a few minutes until she was able to get a hand around his throat and start squeezing. Dean clawed at her arm but wasn't able to overcome her strength.

She grinned at him, watching his face change color as he struggled to breathe. Her eyes flicked back to look at Sam and Dean took advantage of her split attention. He pulled a Palo Santo stake out of his belt and stabbed it in under her ribs. The holy wood burned her from the inside, making her shriek as she dropped Dean to try and pull it out. The wood burned her hands when she tried to grasp it and it kept her powers contained within her so Dean pushed her back against the wall, forearm over her throat as his other hand pressed the stake in deeper.

He began to chant an old Latin exorcism that made Meg pale and Sam raise his arm to try and push Dean away from her. He was interrupted when Meg scratched at his face but was able to twist away and continue before Meg could recuperate. Black smoke began to emerge from her mouth and the last thing that Sam saw was Dean finishing the exorcism and the smoke pooling around their feet before burning through the floor and back into Hell.

Dean coughed, rubbing at his bruised throat before walking back over to Sam. A single gunshot echoed through the house and resulted in yet another demon appearing at the top of the stairs. Darting into the room, she grimaced at seeing Meg's empty meatsuit but didn't let it deter her from stepping over to him. "Winchesters," she snarled, slamming Dean back into the wall; his shoulder hitting the window and cracking the glass. The look she shot Dean was pure hatred as she gathered Sam's limp body in her arms and disappeared while Dean could do nothing but reach forward hopelessly as Sam disappeared. That was how John found him when he made it to the second level. Dean curled his hand in and pulled it back against his chest as he stood. John didn't need to ask any questions. They had failed once again and Sam was still with the demons.

////////////

"Good, you're awake," Ruby said, as Sam groaned; rubbing his head as he sat up and looked around the room. "I need to get a new meatsuit. I'll be back soon." Sam nods and she disappears but the movement makes him wince. He looks around the small room from the well-worn chair he's resting in back in the corner but it doesn't give him any clues as to where he is or how long he's been out for. But as his grogginess receded the memories of the loss of the only mother he ever knew grew and tears burned his eyes. Dean had known exactly how to kill her and while it wasn't a surprise Sam still had trouble reconciling that side of Dean and what else he had seen in his visions. It just didn't seem like the guy he had seen singing along to classic rock on his tapes or skipping class to reread his dog-eared copy of Vonnegut would do that. He knew that he was a hunter but still he hesitated because of everything else he had seen and it had cost him nearly everything. 

Sam finds himself wishing, and not for the first time, that he was able to change skins as easily as Meg and Ruby could. Maybe that could help him forget what happened and shed the guilt. His throat closes up at the thought of Meg; remembering the way Dean had killed her host then sent her back to Hell. Sam recognized the exorcism that he used and he knew it would be years before she could even begin to work her way back out of the depths of Hell. He runs his fingers through his hair and bounces his left knee in agitation. He wanted Ruby back now, needed to get to wherever Azazel had managed to disappear to so they could figure out what they were going to do now.

Ruby came back about a half hour later looking agitated and strange with dark hair where Sam had only known blonde. "I went back to the house and those bastards burned it down, in true Winchester fashion." She hisses out through her teeth and Sam's stomach drops. "If I ever find out who told them..." Turning to look fully at Sam she frowned. "Have you been in touch with Dean before today?"

"What? No I-" Sam hesitated knowing that Ruby could see right through him. "I had all those visions but I just...I should have listened to you. I don't know why I didn't, I thought...I don't know. It was my fault.”

"Well thanks to that you lost the woman who raised you and Azazel was murdered by John." At Sam's stunned silence she continued. "He brought the Colt, Sam, just like we knew he would. Bastard managed to get a shot in and well you've seen how much practice he's had. I had to get you out of there before they could finish the job. We need to keep fighting this, Sam." She was smaller now in her new body so she had to tilt her head back more to look at him. "They won't stop until you're dead. We need to release Lucifer and put an end to this."

Sam nodded curtly, steeling his resolve. There's no way he would ever make this mistake again. He would do what he was meant to only now it would have the added benefit of allowing him his revenge against Dean and John. Make them pay for killing his mother and destroying his family again. 

////////////

John's stony silence had remained as they drove back to Sioux Falls. After an hour or so Dean finally half turned toward him, clearing his throat. "Something's wrong with Sam. He...he moved the desk with his mind, said he had visions." John didn't really have much a reaction to the news, just shifted in his seat and kept driving. Dean waited but still John said nothing. "Don't you think maybe-"

"Not now, Dean." John didn't even look at him, just stared straight ahead at the road. Dean wanted to try and continue the conversation but found himself turning back to look out the window instead, hoping they'd be able to figure it out once they got home. 

Dean hadn't spoken much after returning to the house. He told Bobby every detail he could remember then threw himself into reading through every obscure book he could find to try and figure out just what had happened to Sam while he was living with the demons. Bobby couldn't complain because he ended up with a much expanded library however it didn't seem that Dean would be able to get over what he saw as a failure. It was months until John finally made him join a hunt, hoping it would force Dean into remembering all the other people who needed their help. 

After taking down a zombie it was easier living with Dean. He lost that obsessive edge to him but he still spent every moment between hunts trying to locate Sam again. While he was down on a witch hunt in Louisiana before killing her, he wrung out every divination, location or binding spell she could think of. After disposing of the body he sat in the Impala for a long time listening to the sounds of the bayou around him. He hated knowing the things that he just learned but he couldn't rule out any possibility. Who knew what means the demons would turn to now to keep Sam hidden from him. He knew they would be moving him around now, no way would they take the chance of settling down again. Nor would they let more demons in on his location. Dean knew he couldn't rely on the same methods as before to find his brother. 

He was resolutely not thinking about the fact that Sam wouldn't come with him. He knew he had a slight chance because Sam had tried to talk with him but had completely ruined it by not only drugging him but exorcising the demon as well. He could deal with whatever Sam wanted to dish out later so long as he was able to get him away from the demons. What the fuck did they do to him? Damn kid's got Stockholm syndrome or something...not like that's an easy thing to shake someone from. Dean tightened his grip on the steering wheel so hard the leather creaked under his fingers. He still couldn't figure out what they had done to him or how. And ever since the failed conversation with his father, he couldn't help but feel that he knew more than he had let on. John never did let Dean try and talk with him about it again so he was left to speculate on his own just as he had all through his adolescence. Was Sam born a psychic and they were using it to their advantage? But how would they have known that he could do that when he was just born and that didn't explain his ability to throw him across the room like he did. 

Like most of the other conversations he had about Sam, with himself or otherwise, he just went in more and more circles. So he resolved to keep the information he had learned tonight tucked away and to himself. Months down the line Dean was glad he did because had managed to successfully recreate the spell but it wouldn't work to locate Sam. It worked when he focused on other targets and when no other spells would get him anywhere near Sam, he knew they had somehow blocked themselves from spellwork. At this point he figured nothing but an amazing stroke of luck would get him to Sam.

////////////

Sam's training had increased exponentially since that day three years ago when Dean had almost taken him away. He spent the first few weeks after that time agonizing over what he could have done differently, wishing that Meg wasn't gone and that he could go back to his home. He hated the constant moving from place to place. Then again being there without Meg probably would have been just as difficult for him if not worse. 

Azazel had been a powerful ally and news of his death spread quickly. Though Sam still had Ruby to guide him, oftentimes he felt that he was going up against the world alone. Many who had been backing him previously decided that with Azazel gone the prophecy of Lucifer and the Boy King would never come to fruition. Ruby took Sam all over the country; both to keep them on the move and also to make sure that no one forgot he was still there. Sam would exorcise those who doubted him until favor had shifted back in his direction. 

Stories ran rampant both in Hell and topside and soon Sam found himself with an army waiting behind him for the day that Lucifer would be released. Ruby was by his side the entire time. Though she knew he was more than capable of defending himself she was hesitant to leave him alone in case Dean managed to track them down again. She had kept tabs on the hunter, both through other demons and Sam whenever he would share a vision with her. Which wasn't always. She could tell whenever he had one because his eyes would be distant that day, not wholeheartedly in their work and focusing on himself instead. 

Sam blamed himself for what happened to both Meg and Azazel and Ruby had no qualms about using that to her advantage. Their names would make Sam fight all the harder and work until he was exhausted getting himself ready for the coming Apocalypse. It was on one of those nights when Sam received his first visit from Lucifer. 

He was groggy when he first opened his eyes, caught in that state where he wasn't sure yet if he was awake or still dreaming. He tried to focus but couldn't bring himself fully awake until a soft voice greeted him. "Hello, Sam." Sam sat up, limbs feeling heavy as he looked at the man sitting in his desk chair. Sam returned the greeting hesitantly, knowing that he should be concerned at having a stranger in his home but oddly not feeling the least bit concerned about it. "Don't know who I am?"

Sam shook his head. "Should I?"

"Probably," he replied through a deep chuckle. "Considering I'm the one that you've been working to free from Hell."

"Lucifer? How are you here? Did I-" Sam tried to stand but couldn't get his body to respond to him. 

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Lilith is still breaking seals, but I needed to know for myself. To see that you were going to say 'yes' and let me fix this world." Sam nods as Lucifer moves to stand over him beside the bed. It seemed that was enough for him because before Sam could say anything else Lucifer pressed his fingers to his forehead and he fell back to sleep. 

////////////

John woke to the shrill ringing of his cell phone. He rolled over and answered with a mumbled "'Lo?" as he sat up and was met with Missouri's ramblings. Her words jumbled together in her haste to speak and he had to quiet her and ask her to start over.

"Lawd, John...I know why they took your boy. I woulda never guessed."

Eyes snapping wide open, John got up to pace along the length of his room. "Tell me what happened."

"They're going to start the Apocalypse. Sam is...Sam is gonna to be the one to release the Devil himself from his prison." He ran to Dean's room, banging on Bobby's door as he passed and put her on speaker phone. When all three were sitting around it, she told them how she had seen Sam standing in a church, a woman lying on the ground at his feet as a portal opened up then there was nothing but ash and smoke as the world burned around him. 

The trio sat together quietly after Missouri finished describing what she saw for a second time. "He's been touched by the Devil now, John. I..." she sighed, heavy and foreboding. "If we don't get to him soon, then that boy is going to be lost forever." 

From then on the hunters focused on trying to stop the seals from being broken. They had managed to find mentions of them in various texts but there was no telling which seals the demons would go for or even when. John and Dean had no choice but to go separate ways, trying to cover more ground and possibly pick up on new leads for seals before they would be broken. Bobby even left on a few hunts of his own to track down artifacts that demons would need and store them away somewhere. By some stroke of luck John and Dean had paired up for a hunt and managed to keep two reapers from being killed and breaking a seal but the victory was short lived when they heard that almost a dozen species were now classified as extinct. 

It was practically as frustrating as everything else had been up until this point. At times it was more so because they knew what was going on yet were just as powerless to stop it. The best they could do was go investigate where known seals were broken and see if they could pick up a trail from there. Even then it was sometimes months before seals were broken and then there was a matter of days which high demonic activity. It seemed they were doing everything in their power to keep from falling into a discernible pattern. The demons had to be taunting them. 

John was the only one who still took on regular hunts. Bobby and Dean both send the bigger cases they came across to other hunters that were in the area and instead focused their time on research. Sometimes John would try to justify having been gone for several days by coming back with another rare book for them to try and use but more often than not he would just ask what they had found out while he was gone. Dean could understand on some level. At this point he missed simple. He missed being able to focus on just taking out a nest of vampires to save a handful of people rather than trying to save the whole world. But he couldn't do it anymore, he couldn't ignore the mission that he had been raised on. Even if he couldn't help but envy his father for being able to blow of steam like that.


	3. Part II

John Winchester dies on a Thursday. 

It's a week before Dean even knows. He had left to go track down a wendigo in Montana and while John wasn't always the best at checking in, it would never take this long especially considering how much they were all working to track down Sam. So after a dozen unanswered calls, Dean packs up and makes the drive to Kalispell. He was fidgety the whole time, making calls to local police and ranger offices to see if they knew anything about him. They remembered him all right, he hadn't been back in the station for a few days though. They told Dean they would add him to the list of missing persons so all their officers would know but Dean knew that would be useless. He thanked them anyway, somehow managing to keep his voice even as he pushed Baby up another gear. 

It doesn't take him long to track down where the people have disappeared and the whole drive up to the forest Dean doesn't put any of his tapes in. When he gets to the trailhead and sees his father's black truck parked far off to one side he knows the cold pit in his gut was right. 

He could just be injured. He's injured and can't get his phone. Dean repeated it over and over in his head as he made his way deeper into the trees but it's no use. He knows it isn't true. It isn't until he finds the wendigo's cave and sees the shreds of his father's tattered clothes thrown to the side among the bones of who knows how many other victims that Dean really acknowledges what happened. 

He screams for the monster, calling it out as he races through the passageways; not caring that he barely remembers the way out and that he's throwing everything John taught him out the window. He hears heavy footsteps coming from his left and turns to charge without checking his target. Dean should use his flares. Should light the fucking thing up until it's nothing but ash but it wouldn't be satisfying enough. He stabs his bowie into the wendigo's chest as the force of them coming together sends them crashing into a wall and then down to the ground. Dean can't tell what sounds are coming from him and which from the wendigo as he keeps stabbing and kicking and struggling; getting a blow back for every one he inflicts. 

After he receives a particularly hard rake down his arm Dean screams and twists, climbing to his feet with a rough grunt. Somehow his flare gun managed to stay locked to his belt and he pulls it out with a smirk. Clearly the creature is smarter than it looked because it turned to try and escape down a side tunnel before Dean could get a shot off. It wasn't so lucky. The first flare hits on its side and it screamed loud as the flames began to envelop him. Lip curling up in a dirty snarl Dean fires off the next shot and hits it in the back. 

Dean pulls the trigger again, wishing that the gun held more than two shots and stares down at the body quickly burning away before him. As the high of the fight wears off Dean is suddenly achy all over. Weak and unable to stand his knees give out and he falls, teeth rattling from the shock. His arm stings, bruises already forming on his chest and his eyes burning as he stares at the dwindling fire. What am I supposed to do now? 

He wasn't sure how long he was there for. The cold from the ground had seeped into him and when he stood he wobbled, hand trailing along the wall to help steady him. Unable to stop himself, he called for John, desperately straining to hear anything at all. No answer came. He found his way back to where the clothing tatters and bones lay and reached down towards them with shaky fingers. He noticed something half buried there and they curled into his palm before he could reach down any further. John's knife, the one that Bobby had got him some years ago to replace the one lost on a hunt. There was no denying it now and the weight on his chest made it feel like the cave had collapsed in on him. 

Why didn't Dean just go with him?

Why did John still insist on taking these hunts? 

"Apocalypse or no, other people still need us. We can't ignore what's right in front of us," John's rough timbre reminded him and Dean cursed him. Chewed him out for zigging instead of zagging, for falling for whatever trap the wendigo laid out, for being John Winchester and getting himself killed anyway. 

It was some kind of miracle that he managed to find his way back out. The sky was already darkening, sun hidden by the trees and mountains long before it would actually set. He doesn't remember his conversation with Bobby, just knew he had to give the coordinates so he could send a tow truck and have John's truck taken back to the junkyard. Bobby tried to calm him, of course, but for all Dean knew his eardrums had popped because he couldn't hear a thing. He was pretty sure that he hung up on Bobby but once he collapsed into the Impala and started back towards town he couldn't bring himself to feel bad even though he always hated when his father did it to him.

Worthless.

He was worthless as a son, a hunter...a brother.

Dean found himself in a dirty hotel room off the highway drowning himself in whiskey. It was like every memory he had of his father all tried to push their way to the front of the line first. The first pull of the bottle was accompanied by a grimace as the heat worked its way down his throat to settle in his stomach; warming him even though he wanted to stay cold. He sat there and somehow managed to get through almost half the bottle before a single thought whispered in the background, startling Dean once it was there so much that he sat still as stone, bottle held almost to his lips but not quite there. 

Dad died, and they hadn't saved Sam. 

John lived to get revenge for the murder of his wife and kidnapping of his youngest son and dragged Dean along for the ride. He fought hard, chased down every lead and now, after all this, after almost 20 years of struggling John would never see him. Yet now here he is leaving it all on Dean. Even with him gone Dean couldn't escape the weight of his father. He could practically hear him in his head urging him to continue, to finish it and get their revenge on the demons. He drank from the bottle bottle without thought. His head tipped back, throat working to keep up, until tears burned in his eyes and he had to stop for air. Breathing heavy he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and shook his head but the anger refused to fade. 

Dean collapsed into the chair, eyes sliding unfocused as he stared down at the grain of the wood running along the table. His father was dead, his brother was missing and he was facing the looming threat of the rest of his life. For the first time, he had a choice in front of him: If he walked away now, it all ended. If he didn’t, then he would have to find out if there was more driving him than Dad and memory and duty- then, it hit him. Saving people, hunting things…If he had nothing he at least had a job. There he actually had success. Saved more people than he could count.

"What else am I supposed to do?" He asked quietly, desperate for an answer even though he knew one wouldn't be provided. His anger began to bleed slowly into sadness and desperation as he realized that he was again looking for someone to tell him what to do. He laughed bitterly. "That'll be a hard habit to break. Thanks Dad." He lifted the bottle in a toast and sank back into the cushions. "Bet Sammy would be proud as hell to see this, huh? Come running over once he realized everything he was missing." He scowled thinking of Sam, finally allowing himself to feel resentful over the fact that Dean had spent the better part of his life trying to save him only to find out the damn kid didn't want to be saved at all. Was perfectly happy rolling in the filth with demons. Maybe he should just give up the search and let it all happen as it will. Hell maybe Sam's Winchester genes will make him fail too.

////////////

Dean woke up on the floor, drool cooling his cheek and stomach rolling. His eyes snapped shut as soon as they opened, the light stabbing through his brain and officially making this the worst hangover that he ever had. His phone beeped but Dean couldn't bring himself to reach for it, not that his body would have allowed the movement anyway. Dean drifted in and out of sleep for the next couple hours only waking up long enough to grumble and attempt to shift into a more comfortable position. When the familiar guitar solo that served as his ringtone rang out, Dean was awake enough this time to swat at his jacket and groan out muffled curses. When he finally pulled himself up to his feet the alert for a new voicemail was beeping and flipping it opened he had 9 new messages and 15 missed calls. 

Dean swore and rubbed his forehead, willing some of the tension out before he listened to the first message. Missouri's frantic tone was enough to distract him from the aches of his body. The next three were from her, then one from Bobby and the rest from Missouri until the last two which were Bobby again. All of them urging him to please call except for the last where Bobby cussed him out and told him he'd be at Dean's hotel in 20 minutes. He squinted at the time of the voicemail but the sudden pounding at his door made him drop the phone. 

"Dammit boy you better open this door in the next 10 seconds or I'm gonna knock it off its hinges!" Bobby shouted, pounding again after he was done speaking. 

"Alright alright," Dean winced and stumbled over to the door. "'M comin'." Dean braced himself against the doorframe and pulled it open. Bobby was standing on the other side, expression wide open showing his concern for the amount of time it took to look him over before twisting into anger. 

"What were you thinkin' pulling something like this?" He pushed the door open wider and brushed past Dean, not wanting to knock into him but not wanting to chance having the door slammed in his face. "You know how worried we've been? Making me drive all the way up here in the middle of the night." Bobby shook his head and then actually saw the state of the room. The sheets had been pulled off the bed, the mattress flipped, headboard broken, dresser shattered. When he took another look at Dean he saw that his knuckles were bloody which explained the holes in the walls and Bobby sighed. 

Dean could see the conversation coming so he held up a hand to hold him off. "I can't Bobby, I don't want to hear it." Closing his eyes he sat back onto the chair that had survived his drunken rampage. What he wanted was to down half a bottle of Advil and go back to sleep for a week and then maybe when he woke up this whole thing would have just been a nightmare. But no, that never worked for him in the past and it wouldn't work for him now. Bobby waited until the silence around them became oppressive and Dean started to fidget before speaking up, his voice firm but quiet.

"There are still things that need doin'. If you want to give up and put all this behind you then fine. But you gotta make this decision with a clear head. Don't do it when you're still half drunk and hurtin'. We can figure it all out later." Dean didn't respond, just stared down at his knees feeling like a child being scolded. "We can send other hunters the information for Sam and the seals. Put them on their trail instead. It won't all be dropped if you don't keep goin'." Dean lifted his head, looked at Bobby with eyes that were heavy with dark bags and shook his head. Bobby cut him off before he could speak. "Save it until we get you back home. Now we can either hook you up to my truck or you can drive ahead of me. I'll leave that choice up to you, but either way you're going back with me." 

Dean didn't have the energy to argue with him so he just nodded and walked to the door without looking around the room. "I'll be fine to drive as long as I can get something greasy in me first. I wouldn't do Baby the injustice of hooking her up to a tow truck when she doesn't need it." Dean smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. Bobby let him joke but wouldn't do so much as let him go to the bathroom himself. Though it had been years since Dean had slipped away from him, he wouldn't put it past him to try again in the state that he was in. 

Dean was more withdrawn when they got back to the salvage yard. He spent hours in his room then suddenly was out in the living room on the phone, mapping things out on the computer and researching the seals and trying to figure out where they were going to hit next. It was like even though Dean didn't know what to do with himself, he couldn't keep from pushing ahead with what had been his mission for the majority of his life. And through all that Bobby could tell Dean wasn't the same. It wasn't just that he couldn't go a day without having at least one drink. He was more distant across the board and seemed to be taking the task of tracking the demons as a distraction rather than actual work. So Bobby was more than a little shocked when Dean announced he was leaving on a hunt. He tried to talk him out of it since he wasn't sure that Dean would be able to focus well enough to escape getting hurt but Dean was nothing if not stubborn. 

Surprisingly Dean came back two days later looking more levelheaded than he had since his father's death even though he was clearly favoring his right side. He clapped Bobby on the shoulder with a grin. "What do you say we get all this demon hunting business over and done with so we can save the world and stick to the more interesting hunts, hmm?" Bobby looked at him like he had three heads but wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Instead he shoved Dean back towards his room so he could wash the stink off him because he sure as hell wasn't going to deal with that for the rest of the day. 

And it worked for a little bit. At least up until both of them were feeling nothing but frustration and anxiety from the fact that there hadn't been any high level demon activity in months. They couldn't pin anything down on them and were at a loss as to why they had suddenly all but stopped when they had been going nonstop before. 

"Demons have been awfully quiet lately," Bobby muses mostly to himself while flipping through the cases that he found over the past week. Dean cracks his neck before looking over at him. 

"Think they're hibernating for the winter or is it something we need to worry about it?" He couldn't help but fear that they were starting to all draw together to prepare for the final move. 

Bobby scratches at his beard. "Don't rightly know. It's never really good when they don't at least pop up here and there but..." Bobby shrugs, feeling at a loss since it's been too long for his comfort since they last heard something. 

"The bastards are probably trying to plan something. Feel like going to a crossroads and see if we can't catch someone with some good intel?" Dean asked with a wry grin, laughing when Bobby rolled his eyes at him. 

As it turned out Dean didn't need to go looking since the case he took from Bobby's file landed a demon right in his lap. Neither was expecting to find the other but Dean couldn't pass up on the chance to try and learn something and for once luck was on his side as he was able to wrestle the demon into his backseat and take him somewhere more secluded than a center street. 

Clearly he was a cocky bastard since even though Dean didn't have all of his usual tools with him it wasn't long until Dean was getting his information. The demon laughed, the sound wet from the blood caught in his throat. "You might as well just give up, Winchester. There's no stopping us now. 64 seals have been broken and there's nothing you can do to keep us from setting Lucifer free to burn you all to the ground." He grinned, blood staining his teeth. Dean bent down, hands on the armrests putting their faces only a few inches apart. 

"Tell me where Sam is." 

The demon snorted. "You think I'm going to tell you that? If you don't kill me after telling then Ruby certainly will."

Dean could only assume that she had been the demon that left with Sam and it would make sense that she'd want to be his shadow after what had happened. "Alright well I'll be nice and give you one more chance to spill or I'll send your ass back to Hell." When the demon stayed annoyingly quiet Dean quickly exorcised him and rushed back to Sioux Falls. 

//////////// 

It was rare that Missouri would actually come up to Sioux Falls to see them so the fact that she had called and said she was on her way didn't sit well with Dean or Bobby. She wasn't one to beat around the bush so as soon as she was in the door she explained her visit. "I know you said the seals were all but broken, but we got one last chance to stop all this. I found the church, I found Sam." 

"What do you mean you found Sam? Why haven't you told me before?" Dean shouted, standing as he stared at her.

Missouri looked at him, eyebrow raised as she considered his question. "Boy you're either suggesting that I've been able to keep track of Sam all this time and haven't told you or you ain't thinking straight. Now, which would you have me believe?" Dean held up his hands and stepped back, apologizing without speaking so that Missouri would continue. "As I said, I've seen this place and all the dark energies around it. It was where I first saw Sam releasing the Devil and it hasn't let me be since."

She sighed deeply and pulled a small folder out of her bag. "I was finally able to track down the location of that cursed place. It's called Saint Mary's Convent." Dean whistled low as he read the article that she had printed out. "1972, nuns were murdered by a priest and the place was abandoned. Definitely sounds like something demony," Dean mused flipping through to try and find more information. "But that's all there is to it, no one has been there since. And this is definitely the place that you saw? This is where Sam is going to be?"

She nodded. "Hopefully you'll be able to get there first." 

//////////// 

The Impala was barely in park and turned off before Dean was out the door and running to the doors of the convent. The interior doors to the church were open and all three people inside had their backs to him; as if they weren't concerned about anyone else arriving. 

"SAM!" Dean shouted, skidding to a stop next to an overturned pew bench. "Sam wait, you can't do this." Sam's arm was outstretched his power pinning Lilith back against the altar. A wicked grin split her lips wide as she regarded him but Sam's face remained impassive as he half turned toward him. Dean took another step forward, clenching his fists at his side to prevent himself from reaching forward and pulling Sam back out of the church. 

"You just don't give up do you?" Dean startled and looked to the small dark haired woman coming around to stand between him and the other two. "You'd think that after all this time you would realize that you're not going to win." She crossed her arms over her chest and smirked, weight shifting as she regarded him. 

Dean's lips curl back over his teeth allowing his attention to flicker over to her since Sam hadn't moved yet. "I'm here to talk to my brother, not some demon bitch."

She lets out a short bark of laughter. "Yeah don't try and play the brother card here. You and your Daddy tried to kill him twice. That's why he's going along with his real family and not you." 

Dean's expression jumped from furious to confused then right back to furious in the blink of an eye. Pulling a knife from his belt he stalked forward. "So that's the kind of shit you've been feeding him. No wonder he thinks ending the world is a good idea."

"Not ending it," Sam spoke up for the first time, turning back to Lilith. "I'm saving it. I've seen what you hunters do. You're more deadly than the creatures that you kill. " He closed his eyes to concentrate his powers and Dean darted forward but Ruby shoved him back before he could get too close. 

"You're not stopping us now, Winchester. This moment has been coming for years. So you can either die or take a seat and watch it all happen. And then die." Her smile lit up her eyes triumphant.

The pair struggled back and forth but as Lilith released a pained whimper, Ruby turned to glance back and it gave Dean an opening to stab his salt knife into her stomach. Twisting the handle down sharply, the blade broke off inside her and she grit her teeth as the burn spread through her. While she was distracted trying to pull it out of herself Dean rushed forward and grabbed Sam's arm, pulling it down as if that could stop what Sam was doing. 

"Please, you can't do this. Sam it's not what you think it's going to be. I don't know what they did to you but Missouri has seen it. You can't possibly want this. The brother that I've been trying to save all my life wouldn't want this." Sam grunted and shoved him back more to give him space than to actually cause any harm. 

"Well I'm not the brother you've been trying to save. I'm the one whose cradle your father tried to burn down. The one who you drugged and tried to kill after taking away the woman who raised me as if I was her own. No, Dean, I have my family and you're not part of it." 

Dean tried to protest, to tell Sam how wrong he was but a sharp tug against his gut pushed the breath out of his lungs as he flew back into the wall. Ruby threw the piece of salt down in disgust and pinned him back harder. "I'll hold him, Sam. Break the final seal and release Lucifer." Ruby commanded, eyes wide as she drank in the sight of Sam. His eyes had bled black as another pulse of light shone within Lilith's chest. 

"Sam, look at me man please. You don't want to do this." He struggled against Ruby's hold as he tried desperately to get through to Sam. But he didn't listen. A third pulse shot through Lilith and she slumped back against the altar before sliding down onto the ground before it. Sam slowly lowered his arm, body thrumming with anticipation as her blood began to form the gate. 

"You did it Sam, you did it." Ruby smiled wide at him. "Now all you have to do is say 'yes' and you're done." As the circle closed and tendrils of blood began to swirl toward the center Sam took a step back, chest expanding as he stood himself up to full height. Light burst from the very center of the spiral blinding them all momentarily until it lessened and seemed to become a tangible thing. It filled ever corner of the broken down church vibrating the air around them as it waited 

Closing his eyes and tipping his head back Sam whispered, voice reverent, "Yes."

Immediately the light gathered together and concentrated on Sam. His whole body lit up with it and for a fleeting moment Dean was afraid Sam would get burned up by the light. But when instead of struggling Sam's body loosened and adjusted posture he knew that Lucifer was in control. Cold dread filled him and he shut his eyes for a moment as if that could make all of this go away. 

Lucifer rolled his shoulders, flexed his fingers and curled them into a fist, grinning down at the dead body of Lilith. Once settled into his vessel he strode up to Dean and released Ruby's hold on him so he fell to the ground. He glared up at him and reached for the Colt but Lucifer threw it out of his hands with a flick of his wrist. "You and I both know that won't hurt me so don't waste our time." 

The voice wasn't Sam's. It was heavier, darker and Dean just felt wrong at hearing it. "I don't know," Dean said through a grin. "It might sting a little. End up just on the right side of annoying and ruin your whole day." 

Lucifer just smiled down at him. "You'd present a fun challenge I think. Killing you wouldn't really be worth it right now. So please do your worst, I'll enjoy having you on my trail while I take this world apart. I want you to see exactly what it is that you failed to prevent." Lucifer straightened up and disappeared followed closely by Ruby who clearly wanted to stay behind and end Dean, but she was frightened of Lucifer's reaction so she had to leave him there. But Dean ignored all this, all he could really see was Sam saying 'yes', willingly giving himself to the Devil. It was the last opportunity they had to stop the Apocalypse from happening and Dean hadn't stood a chance. 

////////////

For some reason Sam had thought that being possessed by Lucifer would feel different. Not that it would necessarily be warm, but the cold that spread through to his core was a shock. At first he could still feel his arms and legs but then as Lucifer filled him completely he was drawn away from them and Sam just became a spectator in his own body. It was a strange feeling. He found himself wanting to reach for Ruby or squat down and talk to Dean and when his body didn't respond it was jarring even though he knew it wasn't going to. 

He was only able to half pay attention to the conversation happening between Lucifer and Dean so the change in scenery jolted him, more so since he had no idea where it was he had taken them. He tried to press forward to get a better look around him and Lucifer's laugher echoed around him. _I'm getting the impression that it will take some time for you to settle._ Frowning slightly, Sam continued to peer out through his eyes. 

_Where are we? How come we didn't go back to the safe house?_

_Oh Sam...I won't be needing to go there. I've been waiting thousands of years to be free of the cage, I have no desire to be contained elsewhere. Besides,_ he smirked and turned his hand palm up, curling his fingers as if beckoning someone forward. _I have a lot of work to do and no time to waste._ Thick gray storm clouds blew in above his head and the wind whipped at his hair. In small groups demons began to appear on the field around them, Ruby stepping to the front when she finally arrived. There was easily a hundred of them but where Sam felt pride at those who had been waiting on hand for them to return from the chapel, he just felt a distant feeling of disdain from Lucifer. 

"You all know what's expected of you." When they all just nod and disappear as quickly as they arrived Sam felt for the first time like he was missing something big. Ruby approached them but addressed only Lucifer when she spoke. 

"Are you sure that Dean won't be a problem? He's given us plenty to be worried about before." 

"After all this time, you show doubt after I've come to Earth?" He waved her off when she made to apologize and grinned at the unease his next words caused Sam. "It's not as if I couldn't be rid of him the moment I decided he required more attention than I wanted to give." 

////////////

"It's all across the world, Dean," Bobby said, tossing the remote onto the coffee table. "Earthquakes, hurricanes, frozen crop fields. It's all goin' to hell real quick and it doesn't look like it'll be slowing up anytime soon."

"Nice choice of words there," Dean muttered as he flipped another page. They had gone through all of Bobby's books before, even called in a few favors to get some more, but Dean kept looking; determined to find something that he missed before. Something that could defeat Lucifer. The Colt was gone having disappeared along with the demons from the church. It had been their best bet for taking him down and even then it wasn't a guarantee. He shoved the book away from him hard enough to make it tumble off the back of the desk. "There's nothing but stories in here about the Sword of Michael," Dean waved his hands around to mock the importance the words had been given in his reading. "And how it's what sent Lucifer into the cage into the first place but no one feels the need to mention maybe where to find it? Or you know anything along those lines to help us out. What's the point of telling us about it if they're not going to give us anything to go off of?" He chugged down three gulps of Jack before wandering into the kitchen. Bobby followed him reluctantly. 

"It doesn't exactly sound like something that would allow us to save Sam either. So unless you're willing to give that up then it won't be of any use to us anyway."

Dean paused, keeping his back to Bobby so he's unable to see his face. Finally answering with a flat voice Dean replied, "He made his choice. Both times he made his choice and decided to be with them. He thinks Mary was a demon, thinks Dad and I tried to kill him. Short of a Vulcan mind meld I have no way of convincing him otherwise since it's my word against the word of those who raised him. He's not interested in being saved." He finished off, abandoning the search for food as he deliberately avoided answering the actual question. 

////////////

Sam felt sick. He had been curled up in the back of his mind for days slowly regaining his strength and having no choice but to watch the destruction that Lucifer brought to the world. He had no regard for those who served him and he clearly didn't exist to bring about the goals that Sam had been raised on. He felt weak, miserable in his inability to do anything to stop Lucifer but killing Lilith has drained most of his power and without the same consumption level of demon blood, there was no easy way for him to get it back. 

Lucifer was walking out of the city that he just destroyed and screams were echoing behind him. His hands were covered in blood and more buildings collapsed as he walked. Sam screamed and beat against Lucifer. This wasn't what Sam wanted. He knew that some people would die but he wanted to protect them. Didn't want anyone to suffer like he did when he found out that his mother was killed for being a demon and bringing Lucifer to Earth was supposed to make things even. But instead he had been killing people by the thousands, destroying everything in his path including the demons that had been following him. 

Ruby appeared then and Sam hoped she would speak reason but when she just casually looked over the devastation behind them he knew she wouldn't agree with him. "Are you ready to release Croatoan? Now would be the perfect time since everyone will be focused on clean up and getting people settled." Lucifer nodded and brushed some dirt off his sleeves and Ruby's grin grew wider, like she couldn't wait to see the virus spread. 

Lucifer hadn't been concentrating on keeping Sam contained since up until now he was still recovering so he didn't have the strength to push forward. But at seeing her betrayal, Sam was able to rush forward and shove. Ruby flew backwards slamming into one of the trees that lined the edge of the city. He couldn't speak he was so angry but she could see the pain of betrayal written all over his face before Lucifer regained control. She got back to her feet slowly but teleported away, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of Lucifer's anger. 

"It's too late Sam, I've already won. You can't stop this from happening."

 _No, I won't let you do this!_ Sam struggled, trying to push and fill more of his body. _Get out...get out!_ Sam shoved but Lucifer dug in.

"I just needed your permission to enter, Sam, I don't need it to stay." Sam could hear the wicked grin in his voice. Screaming, Sam pushed harder, filling the gaps left behind as Lucifer was getting pushed out. But he raked his claws against Sam's insides trying desperately to hold on. Sam turned to his training, remembering what it was like when he exorcised all those other demons and turned that ability on himself. He pulled every bit of strength that he had regained after killing Lilith and focused on Lucifer's grace. White light began to shine from inside him, his skin getting a red translucent sheen as the grace started to seep out of him. Sam gagged and his body seized as the light began to fade, retreating back into his body. Sam closed his eyes and used every last bit of his strength, more concerned about ejecting Lucifer than he was about staying alive, and was finally able to force him all the way out. He squinted against the eruption of light around him, trying to ignore the burning pain that filled him. The light seemed to hover around him trying to get back in but Sam wasn't in any condition to consent even if he wanted to so the light of Lucifer's grace condensed itself and streaked through the sky, twisting and rolling before choosing a direction and disappearing. Once he was gone Sam gasped for air, mouth opening and closing uselessly until finally his lungs filled with air and he fell to his knees. The world went fuzzy around the edges for a moment as Sam swayed and shivered. 

Expelling Lucifer had sapped all of Sam's strength, leaving him feeling weaker than he had when he killed Lilith. Try as he might to stay awake, he had no choice but to give into his body's desire to fall unconscious. Hours or maybe only minutes later, he pushed himself off the ground and stood on wobbly knees, the movement making his head spin again. Taking a deep breath through his nose Sam took his first couple steps slow, wanting to be sure he wouldn't end up flat on his back if he tried to move. When he didn't fall over, he made his way toward the city to try and find an unlocked car so he could get away from there. He groaned to himself, knowing it would take him forever to get anywhere in this state but he couldn't let himself stop moving for long. 

He had to find Dean. Sam knew that his brother would be just as likely to kill him as he was anything else considering all the pain he had brought into the world but he would have to chance it. He couldn't trust Ruby or any of the other demons that had followed him. Sam chuckled dryly to himself, realizing now that they hadn't been following him after all, they had just been waiting for him to set the Devil free so they could run rampant. Not that that was really working in their favor either since it was clear Lucifer didn't have any regard for the creatures that he had created. But Sam couldn't waste time thinking about that now. He had to find out how to get to Dean and hope that he would listen long enough for them to plan getting Lucifer locked back in the cage. Sam knew there was no way for them to kill him but he knew how to open the cage back up. The hard part would be getting Dean to work with him. 

As he moved at an agonizingly slow pace down the sidewalk Sam spared a few thoughts to the loss of his family. It served to reason that both Meg and Azazel would have acted no differently toward this turn of events had they survived this long and the knowledge that they had lied to him his whole life made anger burn bright in his chest. Not only that, but they had also taken him away from his biological family. He was doubting everything now and had no clue if there had ever been a chance of him having a relationship with his brother but after everything that happened there would be no way Dean would ever want anything to do with him once they hopefully managed to rid the world of Lucifer. But Sam resolved himself to accept that now before he even could approach Dean so when he was left all alone in the end it would maybe hurt just a little bit less. 

He found a car and after driving for a couple hours, broke into an empty house for the night. After setting up wards to keep him hidden, since he figured it wouldn't take long for Lucifer to send someone after him, Sam raided the refrigerator and collapsed in one of the bedrooms, falling asleep almost immediately. He woke late in the afternoon and his body ached when he got up but still he felt better than he had the day before. Though he wanted to do nothing more than go back to sleep for another day, he knew he couldn't waste any more time in finding Dean. 

Someone shouting his name from outside pulled him off task though, and he peered out the window to see a dark-haired man standing a few feet away from the front steps to the house. He spoke with a British accent when he started to yell for him again. "While I see the advantages of warding yourself up like this it certainly doesn't allow those who wish to assist your little endeavor come in to actually you know...help." His hands were shoved into his coat pockets and he rocked back on his heels as the seconds without a response dragged on, clearly irritated. "Oi! I'm only comfortable with leaving my ass on display like this for so long. I'm offering you aid here and it would only be respectful to at least hear me out." 

Sam moved to the door quietly and pulled it open halfway. He knew there were demons out there who weren't interested in helping Lucifer but they were far outweighed by those who did. He knew his wards would keep the demon from attacking him but he still wasn't ready to offer his trust. The man grinned when the door opened, eyes flashing red. "'Ello, Sam." He said, bowing his head deep enough to acknowledge him but not enough to keep slight mocking out of the gesture. Sam didn't move to let him inside. "Apologies, would you prefer your formal title? I thought we'd keep it brief since you and I both know it won't be long until Lucifer's little minions are going to be coming after you." 

Sam opened the door fully and looked him over again. "And what would a crossroads demon be able to offer me for assistance?"

At that the man's grin turned crooked. "A little crossroads demon like myself? A lot more than you'd think. You see most of the time we don't really get paid too much attention to. And between deals there's plenty of downtime to learn all sorts of Hell's secrets. And I'd wager that I know a thing or two that can get you out of this little predicament."

"And just what benefit will you be getting from this..." Sam asked, drawing out the question to invite the man to offer his name. It seemed he wouldn't be getting it though.

"I'm a crossroads demon." He replied in a bored tone, as if surprised that he needed to be explaining himself at all. "No people means no deals means I'm a demon who's got nothing to do and nothing to offer. I wouldn't survive this apocalypse any better than the humans would. And honestly I rather enjoy doing what I do. You meet all manner of interesting folk." 

Sam frowned. He knew that he had the power to open the doors to the cage and that he was the only one who could do so but it required spellwork that he didn't know. It wasn't exactly something that Ruby had taught him, but if this demon had been able to find out what it was then it might be his only chance to put Lucifer back in his cage. 

"You think I'm going to take you along if you won't even give me your name?" 

He grinned, knowing that at this point Sam wasn't going to say no to him. "The names Crowley. And I suggest we get on the move before anyone else decides to show up and throw a wrench into our little party." 

////////////

Dean hung up the phone with a bone weary sigh. So many hunters had been calling since this...this Apocalypse started and Dean still hated even thinking the word but the more often it got shoved in his face the harder he stubbornly pushed back against the idea. His denial didn't keep other hunters from needing help though, and in some cases Bobby's contact with them was the only way to be sure half of them were still alive. Some hunters had retreated back into their own libraries to try and find solutions to this mess but so far no one had been able to find a viable solution. 

He heard the car roll up the back driveway as he stood to get a drink and peered out through the curtain. Dean didn't recognize the car but he wasn't alarmed until he saw the man unfold himself from the driver's seat. Dean was out the door, gun pointed at his chest before Sam had even taken a single step. Chancing to move around the car a bit, he held his hands free of his sides. "Dean..."

Dean adjusted his grip. "So what brings you here?" He asked in a false cheery tone. "Didn't feel like waiting for me to track you down?"

Sam licked his lips and took a shuffling step forward. "It's me, Dean. It's just me. Lucifer isn't possessing me anymore I...I kicked him out." He offered Dean a weak smile but he only snorted in reply.

"So I'm just going to believe that you kicked Lucifer out and are here to what?" Dean blinked a bit at his own question, realizing that he actually had no idea what would make Sam come here even if he didn't have a passenger along for the ride. "You made it pretty clear that you wanted nothing to do with me." Sam actually looked chastised at that, as if he was regretting being reminded of what he said. 

"I know they lied to me Dean. I know that he didn't want to be freed to save the world. And I can't take back what happened already but we have to send him back to the cage. We have to keep him from causing anymore damage and then I'll go. I can't do this alone and I don't have anyone else so if you just help me do this then I'll leave and you'll never have to see me again."

Dean didn't reply. Just stood still on the steps, kept his gun trained on Sam's chest and cursed the fact that he was here alone. He could see that Sam was weak. His face was pale and he was leaning against the side of the car for support but it could have just been a trick. "So sudden change of heart and you want to play hero now? Just like that." 

Sam shook his head. "No, not just like that. I saw what Lucifer was doing, that Ruby was planning on this all along. I had to see a lot of innocent people get hurt before I could manage to push him out fully." Sam's eyes got a bit distant and they shifted off Dean for a few seconds before snapping back, like he was afraid that looking away from Dean would make him shoot. "I get that you don't trust me, but what other option do you have? I've been raised with this Dean. I know how impossible it is to kill Lucifer. I know better than anyone else. Just hear me out. Decide after if you want to work with me or not." 

Dean scowled but administered the tests to make sure that it really was human-only-Sam standing before him. Not that it didn't make him any less dangerous, but Dean felt better knowing just what it was he was dealing with. It didn't keep him from tying him to a chair either once they had entered into the kitchen. Dean sat across from him but couldn't stay in the seat for more than a few minutes so he paced back and forth, occasionally stopping to ask Sam a question as he told his story. 

It was quiet in the room when he finished; Sam waiting anxiously to hear Dean's decision and Dean struggling between the first real chance he had to get his brother back and all the other times that his hope was shattered. He mulled over everything he heard several times before looking at Sam again who was looking anxious, fearing that Dean wouldn't believe him. "So what you're telling me is that you're the prophesied Boy King of Hell and that you need my help to lure Lucifer to some random cemetery so that you can use your powers to open the gates of Hell and throw Lucifer back in?" 

Sam tilted his head and had to bite his cheek to keep from correcting some of the details. "Well yes, essentially that's what it boils down to." Dean was still for several seconds until his arms flailed forward.

"Really? Really, Sam? Why would that even work? He's busy destroying the world, what makes you think he's going to come just because I start hollerin' for him?"

"It's me. He needs me. I'm sure that he's found another vessel by now but I'm the only one that can contain him without dying. That's...that's why they took me, Dean. They raised me for this." It pained Sam to speak of his family like that because even now, knowing that they hadn't cared for him and instead lied to him all his life, he still couldn't help but care for them. It was clear that hearing the words wasn't any less painful for Dean but it seemed to be what he needed to hear. Scratching the back of his head Dean turned away. 

"You're not moving until Bobby gets back. Then we figure all..." he waved a hand towards Sam "all this out." 

Bobby's reception to Sam hadn't been much better than Dean's. But after a couple hours of back and forth, questions designed to trip him up, and Bobby researching to verify Sam's words they found themselves agreeing to help him lock up the Devil. Sam was finally untied but Dean wasn't letting him out of sight. Sam wanted to call for Crowley and see where he was in getting the ingredients for the spell and thought it might be a good time to introduce him to his new shadow. That way Dean hopefully wouldn't shoot first and ask questions later. 

Nothing Sam could have said though, could have prepared Dean for the demon's sudden appearance. Nor keep him from drawing his weapon. But Crowley just smiled and handed over the small bag of items he had brought. "Just need to get the angel feathers." Dean blinked and mouthed the word 'angels' to himself, looking as if he wouldn't even consider their existence being a real thing. "And then of course...there's your little addition." Dean stepped forward at that. 

"And what little addition would that be?" He asked in a mocking tone, looking directly at Sam who just rolled his eyes. 

"I have to restore my power. I haven't been able to drink any demon blood since Lucifer possessed me so I need to in order to be at my full strength." Dean looked ready to be sick.

"You...drink demon blood? 

Sam frowned as he looked over at Dean. "Of course. It was what I needed to bring out my powers. Pushing him out drained what strength I had so if I'm going to trap him I'm going to need to get that back." Dean looked between Sam and Crowley, shocked into silence until he turned and walked back toward the house. Sam stayed to give Crowley a few remaining instructions then jogged over to catch up with Dean. He grabbed his arm to try and get him to stop but Dean yanked out of his grasp. "What's the matter with you?"

Dean let out a bark of dry laughter and turned to stare at Sam. "You're a freak, Sam, that's the matter. You're drinking blood and working with demons!" He gestured over to where Crowley had been standing only moments before. "Do you not remember telling me all about how they lied to you and used you? But here you are working with another one. What are you thinking?"

Sam pulled himself up to his full height. "It's what I have to do, Dean. And you know what, I've been practicing my powers on demons who were against me for as long as I can remember. So there are plenty of them out there." He shoved past Dean and opened the back door before speaking again. "If you don't want to be a part of this, fine, I'm not here to force you into working with a 'freak' like me." The door slamming behind him was enough to put an end to that conversation. Instead Dean wandered the alleys between the broken down cars that filled Bobby's lot. 

All this time he knew that his baby brother wasn't going to come back exactly like Dean had imagined, nor that he would be what Dean thought he was, but the more he learned about him the farther away the real Sam pulled from his imagined one. Could he have a brother that drank blood? That worked with demons? Yes he was putting Lucifer back in the cage, but what else would Sam do after? At this rate Sam would never become a hunter. If he was willing to work with demons who's to say that he'd be able to kill monsters to protect anybody? He dragged his hand over his face and continued walking until long after the cold air made his breath turn to fog.

Over the next several days Sam came and went. Dean was no longer following him; the next time they had more than a two word exchange was when Crowley returned with the final ingredient. Sam gathered them all and ground them down with a large mortar and pestle and used the same binding that Dean used in his holy water bombs to wrap it together. "Tomorrow," Sam said quietly, cradling the small bundle between his hands. "We leave tomorrow to go to Stull. It's the only place the cage can be opened." Sam looked up at Dean but remained in his seat. "I need to know if you're with me." 

A half dozen responses were formed and summarily dismissed until Dean settled on flashing a cocky grin at Sam and clapping him on the shoulder. "It's not like I can sit out the biggest fight of my life, right?" And if it wasn't exactly the response that Sam wanted it was all he was going to get since Dean simply walked out of the room. Crowley was already spreading the word that the Boy King was going to attempt to put Lucifer back in the cage so Sam was banking on Lucifer's arrogance to bring him to the location. Hopefully he would still believe Sam to be weaker than him so he would try and reclaim him as his vessel. 

The drive down to Stull was tense. Dean kept the volume up and played cassette after cassette even through Sam's attempts to talk about anything. But when they pulled up to the cemetery and saw a man standing alone in the middle the tension between them dropped away. They walked up the path shoulder to shoulder and as they got closer the blemishes on the blond man's face became clearer. Dean grunted, confused as they came to a stop several feet away. "The hell is wrong with his face?" Sam made a show of looking the man over and smiled. 

"He can't hold you, can he Lucifer? You're burning through him." 

Lucifer just shook his head. "It won't matter. He'll last me long enough to get back into you." His eyes flicked over to Dean. "Even if you did somehow trick your big brother into tagging along. Came back for the encore, hmm?" 

"Nah, figured I might as well let you guys do all the work so I didn't have to waste any time in tracking you down. I have to get back home in time for Dr. Sexy so thanks for making this so easy on us." 

Lucifer took a step toward Sam. "I'll give you the chance to say 'yes' again. There's no need to wear yourself out fighting against me. We were meant to do this together, Sam." 

Dean flicked his eyes over to Sam, unable to keep some of the unease he was feeling hidden. He was waiting for Sam to go back to Lucifer, afraid that he would give in to him again. Like Sam had said, this was what he was raised to do. And Dean knew how it felt to have that guidance taken away from him, knew how easy it could be to just fall back into it and not think. When Sam finally spoke and showed his resolve wasn't changing, Dean let out the breath that he didn't know he was holding. "I can't let you hurt anyone else. Once you're back in the cage you won't be able to." 

Dean threw two holy water bombs in quick succession but they barely burned Lucifer. Lucifer turned to look at him, his expression lazy and disinterested. "Your little weapons aren't enough to hurt me."

Dean frowned and rocked his head from side to side. "Well, maybe, but I brought three so I might as well not let it go to waste." Dean threw the final bomb and Lucifer raised a hand to bat it out of the air but instead of being soaked by holy water he was covered in the powder Sam had mixed together. Lucifer snarled, lip curling back over his teeth as the ground behind him began to collapse in on itself. Sam chanted, eyes turning black as he pushed back against Lucifer, not letting him move away from the rapidly growing pit. 

Throwing up a hand he sent Dean flying back against a headstone, the marker cracking in half from the impact. "I snap my fingers and he's dead, Sam. It's your fault your family was killed all those years ago, do you really want to add Dean to that list?" Sam couldn't let his concentration break even though Dean's pained shout pulled at his attention. As their standoff continued Sam chanted louder, winds began to swirl and whip at Lucifer's clothing, making him stagger as the pressure rose. Dean's next scream was cut off as he spat out a mouthful of blood, doubling over as he clutched at his stomach. 

Sam paled as fought harder. He pulled several headstones from the ground and flung them at Lucifer, trying to get him to use up more of his energy to burn out his vessel. The skin on his arms had already begun to burn away and he was visibly weakening. His grace began to shine through so Sam worked to contain him within the body, knowing that if he let Lucifer escape they wouldn't get another chance at this. Lucifer snarled in Enochian and Sam's nose began to bleed but neither was letting up. It wouldn't be much longer until his vessel would be on the verge of collapse. Sam stepped forward and chanted even louder, making the gusts of wind around the pit blow harder and knock Lucifer off balance. Sam's power finally wrapped around Lucifer, keeping him contained in his crumbling vessel and unable to flee. When the pit expanded under his feet there wasn't anything Lucifer could do but grab at the ground to keep from falling, but it fell away beneath his hands and he fell back into the center of Hell. Sam recited the spell to seal the ground up and lock Lucifer back in the cage. 

The silence around them almost hurt and Sam managed to take a few shorts steps closer to Dean before falling to his knees, feeling like gravity was pulling harder on his body. "Dean?" He rasped out, clearing his throat before trying again. "Dean, are you alright?" Dean slung an arm over the tombstone behind him to help sit himself up and he grinned at Sam, blood staining his lips. 

"I'm pretty sure that my guts are not where they're supposed to be but uhh," he was interrupted by the need to cough. "Old Beelzebub is where he's supposed to be and you owe me a fucking drink." Sam laughed and hauled Dean up so he could drive them to the hospital.


	4. Epilogue

Dean had of course checked himself out of the hospital early since he couldn't be bothered sitting in a hospital room when he had a perfectly good couch at home which had much better cable channels and beer. He was surprised to find Sam still there, even though he'd come to see Dean in the hospital he figured Sam would want to leave once he was satisfied that Dean was okay. Sam stood off to the side of the living room, shifting his weight from foot to foot and feeling more awkward than he'd ever felt before. He didn't think that Dean would ever accept him because of his powers and the demon blood. 

Bobby had to intervene to actually get Dean to talk since he was hoping that it would all settle on its own. But once they started neither could stop. Sam asked dozens of questions about him and about their father. He wanted to see pictures of his mother and he told Dean about the things that he learned about him from his visions. Bobby had been more interested in learning about how Sam was raised whereas Dean couldn't stand hearing it and would storm out of the room whenever the topic came up. They were both too afraid to ask for what they wanted even though it came out to being the same thing. Both were afraid of being rejected but when Bobby announced that he had cleared out one of the extra rooms for Sam, it seemed the idea was settled. 

Of course, then Sam came home one night smelling of blood and Dean was furious. He thought Sam would have given that all up know that he wasn't running around playing vessel to the Devil but Sam saw no reason to give up everything he was even if he didn't plan on leading a demon army anymore. They stayed up shouting until early morning, neither one of them willing to give in to the other. They skirted around each other for the next several days, each one making snide comments to the other whenever they could get away with it. And when Dean had stepped in front of Sam to stop him from going out for another 'fix' it started the fight all over again. 

It was after Missouri's visit that Sam decided to step forward to try and work things out. He was excited at first to meet a psychic since he had never come across someone else who had the same powers. But then as she told stories about meeting John and helping to find Sam he went back to feeling like the odd one out. Someone who was alone even though he never lacked in company. After she left he decided to bite the bullet and try. 

It had been a week since he had any blood and he could start to feel the effects. He didn't see why he should have to stop but at this point Sam just didn't want to risk losing what little he had. He still felt the loss of Meg and knew that chances were that wasn't going to go away. Ruby's betrayal made him wary of trusting anyone, especially Dean considering their rather opposite viewpoints but he had to try. Since he had learned that most things he had been told were a lie, he wanted to take the chance to decide on his own even if that was proving more difficult than he would have hoped. 

There was nothing they could do about the powers. Yes, they would weaken greatly without continued consumption of blood but they would never leave him completely. Dean did demand that he stop drinking though. The first attempt at Sam stopping had him going cold turkey which made him sick and miserable, body shivering and always cold. Dean grudgingly admitted that Sam wouldn't last this way so he forced himself to call Crowley to bring him some blood. It took everything in him to not exorcise Crowley, who left with a snide remark of "Anything for our dear King." With a more gradual letdown the next time Sam was able to stay in his own room rather than the panic room and though he was weaker, his body wasn't killing itself. 

It took the better part of a year for Sam to get over his body's need for the blood. Slowly he would consume less and less until he could stop drinking at all. His telekinesis was still there but it wasn't something he could use frequently and he hadn't come across a demon that was a threat to him in a while so he hadn't had a chance to exorcise any of them. He still had visions though. Every once in a while he would have one of Ruby but with Lucifer gone she had mainly stayed hidden and Sam still couldn't quite bring himself to go after her. Partially because he knew Dean would never let him go see her on his own but also because he was afraid of how he would react when he saw her. Mostly what he saw was hunts, same as before, but he still couldn't keep from wanting to protect these creatures from hunters. So he only told Dean about those who were out of control, those that couldn't be helped. 

Dean didn't quite trust Sam to be a hunter at first, and since Sam had no intention of becoming one, Dean wasn't wrong in wanting him to stay back. Though he didn't want Sam to keep the strength he had before, he still couldn't keep himself from wanting to keep him close and safe by other means especially since they were still getting adjusted to becoming brothers. Most of the time Sam worked with Bobby, helping to add to his library and making sure that the books had the whole history of the creatures rather than just the hunter's side. It took some convincing on his part because Dean and Bobby hadn't quite come to terms with the idea that they were creatures and not monsters and didn't really accept what Sam was trying to teach them. But Bobby was willing to try so he always listened whenever Sam told him the history of the creatures or how to deter them rather than kill them. 

Things between Dean and Sam were not always easy. Sometimes one would say something that would set the other off and they'd be on edge for a week. And yet other times they would spend the night drinking beer and watching old reruns on TV. At least they were when Dean wasn't insisting that he catch Sam up on literally everything. He saw every Star Wars movie, listened to every one of Dean's cassettes, and Dean took a great amount of pride in taking Sam to his first bar. He insisted that it counted as his first official drink since it was a rite of passage having one in a bar rather than from the fridge back home. He didn't even mind that Sam couldn't play pool to save his life. More often than not Bobby would end up just shaking his head at them and tell them to take it somewhere else since "someone around here needs to get some damn work done every once in a while." 

Things felt sort of surreal for both of them. Dean because as long as he had been told to get Sam back he never really expected it to happen and especially not in the way that it did. And Sam because this was the exact opposite of everything that he had ever known and he no longer was the Boy King, no longer had a real solid purpose in life. But they somehow managed to balance each other out. It would be a long time before they were really comfortable in calling the other 'brother' even though the word had been in the back of their minds for years. But for now things had managed to settle and neither one of them really wanted to question that. It was enough that they were together, they would figure the rest out as it came.


End file.
